Monday, November 29, 2010

Thanksgiving Day at my in-laws was good; I watched what I ate, so my diabetes didn't give me any trouble. Cold day, but clear.
The following day we visited my mom; my brother and his wife were out there also.
The weather was also good that day, which is good since my mom lives an hour away from Salt Lake. We have to swing around the Great Salt Lake to and from, so I got a couple of photos on the way back.

Picture 1: the Oquirrh Mountains (Salt Lake is on the other side of them)
Picture2: another view of the Oquirrh Mountains, reflected in a bit of the lake

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Today's weather was a whole different story. Got over a foot last night, and the streets were nasty when I went to physical therapy.

Picture 1: Looking west from my driveway (those mountains in the back are the Oquirrh Mountains seen from this side)
Picture 2: my front yard
Picture 3: getting to my vehicle. The snow was actually high enough to block the door; I had to brush snow away to open it.

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Everyone's excited about Wikileak; personally I think it might be a good thing to air out some dirty laundry and stir the pot.

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"Promises in the Dark" by Pat Benatar
"Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash
"2000 Light Years From Home" by The Rolling Stones
"Poison" by Alice Cooper
"Tube Steak Boogie" by ZZ Top
"My Mirage" by Iron Butterfly
"Sugar Town" by Nancy Sinatra
"Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits
"Come As You Are" by Mindy Abair
"I Think I Love You Too Much" by Jeff Healey

Who could forget Dire Straits?

For when you are in the mood for some light jazz.

The late Jeff Healey (you may remember him from the movie Roadhouse); cancer took his sight at eight months old, and ended his life when he was only 42. Great blues guitarist.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Nasty business with the weather; we got a foot of snow Saturday night. One big problem is that the temperatures haven't really been cold enough to drop all the leaves, so the snow is building up on trees, and I expect quite a few broken branches around the valley.

Picture 1 This is a tree in front of my house (you can see my mailbox in the lower left corner)
Picture 2 This is my driveway, as seen from the center of the street
Picture 3 The birds are out of luck
Picture 4 My neighborhood, looking to the west

Click to enlarge

This stuff would be of more use up in the mountains; down here it is just a PITA.

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I imagine everyone has heard quite a bit about dissatisfaction with TSA; it seems like they like hiring idiots, bullies, and goons.
If you want to really get pissed off, take look at this. Check me if I'm wrong, but when the TSA does stuff like that, shouldn't it be considered a health hazard? Seems to me that the asshole who checked the passenger should be fired for something like that; there is NO excuse for that sort of bullshit.

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Any favorites in this bunch of tunes?

"Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty
"A Hazy Shade of Winter" by Simon and Garfunkel
"Flight of the Bumblebee" by Al Hirt
"Shot of Poison" by Lita Ford
"For My Lady" by The Moody Blues
"Walk Away Renee" by The Left Banke
"Find Another Fool" by Quarterflash
"When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues" by Martina McBride
"Lawyers, Guns, and Money" by Warren Zevon
"Alone" by Heart

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Since it's Veterans Day, I'd like to take this time to pay tribute to America's veterans.
At the south end of Salt Lake valley is the Camp Williams Memorial Park, a cemetery for American veterans. My brother put this clip together, in honor of this country's veterans, and I'd like show it here. At the end of the video there are three marker stones shown; the first one is my dad's brother (Korean War, Vietnam), the second is his brother-in-law (WWII), and the last is my dad's marker (WWII, Korea War).
Thank you to everyone who has worn our nation's uniform.

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I was finally able to drive myself a couple of days ago (I've been unable to drive since July 6); just about wore me out. My arm is getting stronger, but still has a long way to go.
I seem to be doing ok on controlling my diabetes; I check my blood sugar morning and evening, it seems to be running between 95 and 125 most of the time, which isn't too bad. Enough about me.

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For some reason, I feel more like oldies today; probably has a lot to do with the weather, cold and rainy. Anyone out there remember these? Any favorites?

My Way by Frank Sinatra
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot
No Milk Today by Herman's Hermits
Heart and Soul by Hoagy Carmichael
The Pusher by Steppenwolf
Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones
American Pie by Don McClean
The Ballad of Ira Hayes by Johnny Cash
Kentucky Rain by Elvis Presley
Tuxedo Junction by Glen Miller

Well, the voting is over. It is now time to mop up the blood and carry out the trash. Over most of the country there was a change in the political political parties, the Republicans ousting out a lot of Democrats. The left wing looks at it as a failure of communication, the right wing sees it as a triumph of sorts. They are both wrong.
To those on the left: the failure wasn't in communication, we just didn't like the message you were sending, and the fact that you were ignoring all communication from your voters. When you were handed the keys to the city two years ago you had a chance to do something important. Instead, overnight you changed into the same kind of greedy, crooked, stupid assholes that you were voted in to replace.
To the right wing: don't go strutting around; you people are on probation, since we know what happened last time you were in charge. We can throw your asses out too, if you get out of line. The only reason you got voted in was because you were second choice, and regarded as the lesser of two evils.
Personally, I feel that gridlock is the best thing that can happen to the federal government; you get better government when your representatives have to talk things over to pass laws, rather than just rubber-stamping everything.

"Whenever you have an efficient government you have a dictatorship."
-Harry S Truman

“I vote for the candidate that I believe will paralyze the government the most. The last thing we need is a fully functional government looking for something to do.”
-Comment seen on a blog

This country is walking a fine line; it is in a position to crash if things go the wrong way. The only thing that can pull us back from the brink is the economy getting better, and this means more jobs, and more people working. Handing out money from the government does not help things get better; that is like taking money out of one pocket and putting it in the other and call it a profit. Governments do not produce revenue; all they do is move part of it around in the form of taxes. Only private business can generate wealth. If you want to help them, quit making it more difficult to run a business by coming up with new taxes and regulations that aren't always needed. Just giving a business a tax break will not get them to hire more help; anyone with any business savvy knows that you don't hire people unless you're already making money and need the help. Make it easier for a business to make money, and it encourages them to hire more people. When you tax a business, they pass on the tax to the buyer, and that can discourage buying. If the government wants to help the economy, quit hiring "czars" and creating bullshit agencies, and start talking to people who have run successful businesses and get some input from them.
Just my opinion.

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Some of the plants in my yard are changing, but others seem to have completely missed the fact that winter is coming.

Mums are doing fine.

My mulberry trees are ignoring the cold.

This tomato plant is six feet high, and doesn't seem to mind the cold.

Some vines are changing.

The vine still has berries; the birds usually get them all by now.

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Odd bunch in my playlist today; any favorites in the top ten of them? Any comments?

We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister
Long Tall Sally by Little Richard
Midnight Rider by The Allman Brothers Band
Runnin' Blue by The Doors
Hey Joe by The Leaves
Veteran of the Psychic Wars by Blue Öyster Cult
Against the Wind by Bob Segar
Sweet Lorraine by Benny Goodman
A Time for Everything by Jethro Tull
Piece of Wood and Steel by David Allan Coe